Auxiliary air-valve.



GEORGE C. SHIVERS, 0F SAVANNAH, GEORGIA.

AUXILIARY AIR-VALVE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Feb. 19, 1918.

Application filed June 23, 1916. Serial No. 105,455.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE C. Srnvnus, a citizen of the United States, residing at Savannah, iii-the county of Chatham. and Stateof Georgia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements iniiuxiliary Air- Valves, of which the following is a. specifi cation.

The present invention has to do with auxiliary valves for internal combustion engines of a type designed to automatically admit fluid, in this instance air, for admixture with the carbureted gas whereby the irregularities of the carburetor control will be adequately compensated.

It is quite generally known at the present time that one of the greatest difficulties which is experienced in the use of engines of the above mentioned type is due to the inability to control the proper proportion of mixing of the gaseous fuel which is supplied to the engine under the variations of the conditions of operation. For instance, it is desirable in starting the engine to have a fairly rich mixture, while such mixture should preferably be lean after the engine has become warm or when the speed of the engine is relatively high. The proper control under these conditions is importantand a number of advantages are secured by the utilization of a device Which will produce the result, among which may be mentioned the substantial elimination of carbonization in the cylinders, increase in power and speed, the maintenance of reduced. temperature of the engine parts, and finally as an incident to the foregoing, economy of fuel consumption.

I am well aware that ithas been proposed to employ auxiliary valve means broadly in connection with combustion engines which means are manually operable but my main objects have been to produce an article whiehis simple in construction. entirely automatic in action and capable of controlling the admission of the fluid in proportion as the speed of the engine or the suction action in the manifold created by its cylinders increases, this auxiliary means being at present desirable because of the fact that few, if any, but the most expensive carburetors or carbureting devices at present in use, adequately modify the admixture in the manner referred to by an automatic action.

With the above in View the present invention comprises a body or cuplikecylindrical easing having therein a valve member so arranged as to be unsoated to more or less uncover a. supply upon the production of a varying degree of vacuum in said casin at one side of said valve member,

l means normally tending to hold the e member in s d position.

a full undersandin of the present invention, reference is to be had to the fol lo "ing description and the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of an internal combustion engine manifold having my valve attachment secured thereto.

Fig. is a side elevation of the invention. Fl x 3 a vertical sectional view; and

' 4ris a sectional view on the plane indicaed by the line 4%. l of Fig. 3.

Throughout the followi g" detail description, and on the several figures ofthe drawing, similar parts are referred. to by like referemze characters.

Specifically describing the invention and referring to the drawing, 1 desi nates a cuplihc c -;linder or casing provided at one side or end with a screw cap and at its other side with a threaded nipple 3 'by means of which the device may be attached to the intake nanifold of an internal combustion engine, at a poi .1 intermediate the carbureter device with which such engine usually supplied and the engine cylinders. djacent to the threaded portion of the nipple 3, the body hexagonal in shape as indicated at to receive a wrench for screw ing the nipple into its operative position in a threaded opening of th. manifold provided therefor. lVithin the cylinder 1 is reciprocally mounted a pistonlike valve memher 6 snu Y itting the cylinder and having a cupped. cc at one side as indicated at 7 and a flat shoulder at its other side indieated at S, which shoulder constitutes a valve seat adapteil to seat against the eX- tremity of the supply passage 9 which extends through the. nipple 3 and places the interior of the casing l in communication with the engine cylinders, hereinafter referred to the suction chamber. It will be observed that the valve member 6 is provided with a laterally projecting stem 10 which is fluted or grooved externally, said stem extending into the supply passage 9 hereinhefore referred to. Furthermorothe valve 6 is provided. with a longitudinally extending passage 11 which for the purposes of this description will be termed an exhaust. passage. said. passage as will be observed in communicating with the supply passage 9 with which it is coaxial and establishing communication with the suction chamber and the casing 1 at the opposite side of the valve member 6 to the inlet ports 12 provided in the side wall of the casing.

In the drawing 1 have shown two such ports but it will be understood that any suit able number may be employed for the purpose of admission 01 air or other fluid into the casing in the manner hereinafter more clearly set forth.

A spring 13, of helical form, is interposed etween the cap 2 and the cupped face of the valve member 6 and normally holds said valve in seated position closing the supply passage 9.

The operative area of the inlet ports 12 is controlled by means of a disk or cut oil lat which is formed with a lateral extension 15 for manually adjusting the same and provided with apertures or slots 16 for registry to a greater or less extent with the inlet ports 12 or" the casing. The cut off is limited in movement by a stud or stop element 17 projecting from the easing into an arouate slot 18 formed in the disk. This cut ofi. member is held at adjusted position pret erably by a specially formed knurled nut 19 having threaded connection with the body of valve casing. This member performs a dual function, first, that of holding the cut oil in adjusted positions as just mentioned and secondly. constituting a muliling me: us. For the last mentioned purpose the inner face oi the nut 19 is formed with an annular groove or recess 20 which when the nut is in contact with the face of the disk l-l provides for a continuous passage through which the air is fed to the casing inlet ports 12, the nut being provided with a plurality of transverse apertures or passages 21 arranged in'close spaced relation and coinmunicating with this annular groove 20 above described. Thus instead of the air being drawn through the relatively small inlet ports 12 direct which would produce ordinarily quite a hissing sound, it is forced through the relatively large passage formed by the transverse apertures 21 and the annular groov '20, all communicating with these inlet ports.

I preferably employ, in addition to the member 19, a lock nut- 22 which coacts with the first-mentioned member to prevent displacement thereor", said locking member 22 being provided with a lateral shoulder 23 which holds the body of the locking member in spaced relation to the nut 19 and leaves the passages 21 unobstructed.

Describing the use of the invention, it will be understood that when the engine with which the auxiliary valve means constituting this invention is employed is rest, the valve member or piston (3 seated and the supply passage 9 ol the device close It is to be understood that the tension of the ring 1 s suliicient t hold the. valve member seated under normal. condition o'l" vacuum which is presentin the intake manifold as when the engine is idling or the load is so increased that the speed oi. the engine is materially reduced and said spring. of course, may be adjusted to iroduce this el tect by the screw cap of the casing 1 which holds the spring in place. The inlet orts of this valve device may be closed by nun ment of the handle extension 1.3 for he cut ott 14:. said handle member being suitably i shown in Fig. l t ports are open or iarily rich 1'. lXi'lll'Q supplied by e carbureter device is '0 ti o; iuders in the usi ll ction oi the engine 1 l is in operation. the suction the cylinder-- exhausts the air from the i 1 by reason of the communication herewith tar-(nigh the exhaust pas l e vacuum thus produced at the mic;

val c member ti can. ig the latter to move against the to sion atthe spring l3 so as to unsc t c valve w ei such suction draw no air throigh the inlet ports 1'2 which have been previously opened by adjustment of the cut oil l l, said air passing about the stem l0 and into the intake provided with ind cia as indicate when the inlet rat. The 0rd the engine mani- :told at diluting the carbureted gas passing therefrom into the engine cylinders. It will app: but that the extent to which the air is thus admitted through this auxiliary valve device is practically proportionate to the amount of suction created by the engine pistens, or the degree of vacuum which is produced at one side of the valve member. When this suction is reduced as in slow speeds oi the engine or as in starting. the valve member tends to reseat under the corn trol of the spring 13 cutting oil" the auxiliary supply of air.

By actual. experinientation, itis found that in the use of this device the speed of the internal combustion engine is quite inaterially increased and there is also a very up reciable reduction in the consumption of the hydrocarbon fuel. The article is capable oi: being very cheaply lnainitactured and may easily be cleaned and requires no change in the construction ot the engine to which it is applied and having so few moving parts is subject to little or no wear.

It is within the purview of the invention that slight changes may be made in the details of construction without departing from the spirit of said invention and within the scope of the appended claims.

l'lO

Jill) Having thus described my invention, What I claim as new is:

1. In a device of the class described, a casing, a valve mounted therein and dividing the same into a vacuum chamber at one side and an air chamber at the other side, said casing having a supply passage leading to the air chamber normally closed by the valve aforesaid, said valve also having a passage therethrough establishing (jOllln'llllllr cation between the vacuum chamber and the supply passage and in alinement with the latter, and a spring in the vacuum chamber pressing the valve against the end of the casing and closing the supply passage to the air chamber, said casing having an air inlet for admitting air to actuate the valve when a vacuum is created in the vacuum chamber and for thereupon supplying air to the supply passage aforesaid.

A device of the class described co1nprising a valve casing having a fluid inlet port, a supply passage for delivering the fluid admitted into the casing by said port, a valve member controlling the passage and establishing communication between the passage and the interior of the casing and having a guide stem projecting into the passage, said valve being operable by the fluid entering said port and the stem being externally grooved to permit passage of the fluid through the supply passage when the valve member is unseated and moved in a direction outwardly of the passage, and means eoacting with the valve at the side opposite the stem to normally hold the valve in seated position,

3. A device of the class described comprising a valve casing having a fluid inlet port, a supply passage tor-delivering the fluid admitted into the casing by said port, a valve member controlling the passage and operable by the fluid entering said port and having a guide stem projecting into the passage, the stem being externallygrooved to permit passage of the fluid. through the suppl passage when. the valve member is unseated, a cut oif adjustable for controlling the inlet port, and separate means for holding the cut off in adjusted position.

l. A device of the class described co1nprising a *alve casing having means for connecting it to a suction chamber, said casing having a relatively restricted air inlet port, a supply passage for delivering the air admitted into the casing by said port, a valve member controlling the passage, and muttfler means coopera ting with the valve member for conveying the air to the inlet Whereby to prevent hissing incident to the intake of the air therethrough.

5. A device oi the described comprising a valve casi g having means for connecting it to a suction chamber, said casing having an air inlet port, a supply passage for delivering the air admitted into the c ing by said port, a valve member contriling the passage, an adjustable cut oil for controlling the operative area oi? the inlet port, and mul'lier means coasting vith the cut oil and provided with p nzn'inall connmnncwith the nlet port.

6. A devi ve ot the class described comprising a valve casing having means for connecting it to a suction chamber, said casing having an air inlet port, a ipply passage for delivering the air admitted into the casing by said port, a valve member controlling the passage, a cut otl' disk provided with an aperture adapted for registry with the casing inlet port, manipulative means "For said cut oil, means for holding said out oii' at adjusted positions comprising a nut having threaded eoi motion with the casing, said nut being formed with an annular groove cooperating with the inlet port, and apertures con'nnunicating with said groove.

7. An auxiliary air valve for internal combustion engines comprising a cup shaped cylinder, a pistonlike valve member operable therein, fluted guide stem projecting from said. valve member, a supply passage in said cylinder, an exhaust passage in the valve member alined with said supply passage, a detachable cap member for the cylinder, a spring interposed between said cap and the valve member tor holding the latter seated over th supply passage, the cylinder having an inlet port, means for controlling the operative area, of the inlet, and locking meansft'or holding said coi'itrollii'ig means at adjusted position.

In testimony whereof I atlix my signature.

GEORGE C. SHIVERS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

